Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to continue to honour the UK’s responsibilities as a guarantor power under the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee; whether they consider the Treaty still to be binding on the UK and other signatories; and if not, why the Treaty failed; and (1) when, and (2) where, any member of the Cabinet, including the Prime Minister, has met with (a) the President of Cyprus, or (b) the President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, in the last 30 years.

The Government considers the Treaty of Guarantee to be binding on all its signatories. The UK's principal responsibility under the Treaty of Guarantee is to recognise and guarantee the independence, territorial integrity and security of the Republic of Cyprus. The Government fulfils this responsibility through supporting the UN-facilitated settlement process, which is aimed at achieving a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation with political equality as defined by the relevant Security Council resolutions. Information on meetings between members of the Cabinet and the Leaders of the two Cypriot communities in the last 30 years is not held centrally and could only therefore be obtained at disproportionate cost. The Prime Minister met with President Anastasiades in London on 17 April 2018 during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, and more recently in the margins of the Western Balkans summit in Sofia on 17 May 2018. The Foreign Secretary last met with the Leaders of the two Cypriot communities at the Conference on Cyprus in Crans Montana, Switzerland on 27 June 2017.